treadmill Doctor Note :

MSRP:

$999

Overall Rating: 4.78

Vision is positioning itself as a high value proposition in a very competitive landscape.

General Information

Vision is an import brand made by Johnson. They are known for making a high value treadmill. They were formerly owned by Trek Bicycles but were sold to management and now, Johnson is the sole owner of the brand. For years Johnson Health Tech operated Vision as a separate brand but last year decided to merge its' operations with their other North American operations.

Quality / Philosophy

For the Vision line, Johnson appears to believe that if you put good enough components in it, you can expect a reasonable service life. Sounds good and it makes works. Their love of ortho belts is not something we would endorse but the ortho belts are better than they were in the past. Ortho belts add a bit of cushioning but the wear on the drive system is not a good trade off. A good pair of shoes for use only on the treadmill is a better option. We gained a much greater understanding of Johnson's business this past spring with our visit to their headquarters and facilities in Taiwan and China. Johnson is the most integrated manufacturer of fitness equipment in the world. This can be both good and bad. The good is that you are in control of almost all aspects of production. The bad is that you are in control of almost all aspects of production. They really seem to be focused on doing things the right way so it appears that this is a case where it is good (the big exception was the recall with the Livestrong elliptical this past year). If they do have a problem, they only have themselves to blame. Overall, we were impressed with their quality procedures and design and testing processes and this year's reviews will reflect our better understanding of their operations.

Outlook

Vision, who once helped shut down many US factories with their innovative manufacturing approach, now is the victim of their own success. As they have moved up in price point, they essentially priced themselves out of the market just as Icon and Horizon improved quality drastically. You do get a better machine when compared with a Horizon unit and we now find many of the Vision machines in light commercial use.